The other thing you might look at are some of Kurzweil's keyboards, specifically the Stage Piano series. The SP-88x is the high end version with weighted keys, and the SP-76 is the low end one. Both have great sounds, and every Kurzweil I've ever played plays about as close to a real piano as you will get on a keyboard. There are some audio demos on the sites I linked, have a listen--they're good keys, and I have wanted one of these babies for a long time. They're a good option if you want something in the middle--they have full MIDI capabilities, but still play like a decent upright piano.

I would say, first, stay away from Casio. They make watches.

Second, I would say just spend the money once on a nice keyboard that is also a really good controller. I think that the Kurzweil K2600 is a great keyboard. It is configurable and upgradable, so you can buy a "cheaper" version and upgrade it as your needs mature. It is not inexpensive, but you'll be able to use it for a very long time as it is also a great MIDI controller.

If you insist on wasting your money, go with a Roland Fantom but what you SHOULD do is get a good sound card and pirate software synths and plugins for free. My thought is that if you don't know what to buy => you're not making any money off your music => no one will care if you borrow some software. There are some badass soft synths/samplers out there and the interface of a real midi sequencer beats the hell out of any built-in workstation environment.

No advocating piracy on gamedev, you know the drill.

There are plenty (and I mean PLENTY) of good free soft synths out there anyway.

Quote:

pirate software synths and plugins for free

Actively encouraging piracy on a forum full of aspiring game developers and musicians. It would have been less effective to erect a sign on my lawn saying "Please Ban Me". This kind of behaviour will absolutely not be tolerated.

Hey,

I'd have to say that I agree with [more or less all of] Andrew Russell's posts [except the ones about 'More samples does not a skilled composer make', which is true, but IMO not entirely so - because a lacking of samples makes it much harder to do exactly what you want].

I'd personally be leaning towards a software synth system. You can build an entire setup for much cheaper than you'd expect. Although I dunno if you'd get anything substantial for under $600USD, my setup isn't probably worth too much more than that [minus some samples though].

My reasoning for going with a software synth is that it has the ability to grow. It also has the ability to age gracefully. Plus, you probably already have a computer, and possibly have one that's capable of running the synth product.

For example, I have had a Sound Blaster Live Value and a really quite old Roland [EM something or other I think, it doesn't matter] for quite a while. After doing a little bit of a look around, I got myself GigaStudio, and some samples [there are _some_ free ones online, but they tend to be of much lower quality to those that you'd buy]. If you go with some low-end samples, you can certainly get a more or less extensive set of sounds for another $250.

The plus side to all of this is that if you decide that you want higher quality samples, you can just buy a new pack, or buy the individual samples that you want, rather than needing to get a whole expansion card [and quite honestly some of the sounds that are available for low-level keyboards are actually impossible to associate with the actual instrument...]. The downside is that it's a little fiddly to get everything set up well.

I dunno, this is just my opinion. I have another, higher level roland that I do some actual playing on, but never recording. Similarly, my (unfortunately not any more) composition teacher had maybe 3 or 4 mid to high level synths around, but preferred to use and teach with GigaStudio, not only because it sounded better, but because it was easier to record with and easier to edit.

--CJM

Software synths are simple to use and expand, but generally not as high-quality as nice hardware textures. The really nice software-based snyths that (IMHO) really sounded worth-while, were not cheap. Then there's always the problem of D/A conversion. A Sound-Blaster anything is not a great D/A converter. Granted, you probably don't want to drop the coin for a nice Avalon piece, outboard gear is generally better than in-computer gear...in general.

The only other point I would make is that your outboard gear will last you 20+ years if you buy good stuff. You don't have to worry about the next big OS not supporting the gear, or that your hard drive will crash and you loose everything. I still have an old Korg M1. No way would I have a 20-year-old software investment still laying around. The M1 works great, still sounds as good as the day I bought it, and can control all the newest effects modules, and still interfaces with my newest computers. Heck, go out and get an old DX-7!

In the short term, a software synth is cheap and will get you going. If you want a longer-term investment, go with some respectable hardware.

Yamaha Motif ES6/7 or better yet 8

I love my!

has weighted ACTION keys in other words the keys swing a rod that hits a felt pad to give it the feel of a real piano. the sounds are wonderful! I love mine.

Bottom line you need to drive out to a music store that has all the major keyboards on disply. Us telling you what to get will only give you an idea of what you want.

Agreed. Get a nice weighted-action controller. That is a worth-while investment for creating digital music.